Edelweiss Dairy's $15.5M Bond: Milking the System or Smart Moo-ve?
So, a dairy farm in Freedom, NY, is getting a sweet deal from the Cattaraugus County IDA – a $15.5 million bond to fund a massive $32.5 million expansion. Four new barns, a fancy milking parlor, manure recycling, and methane digesters? Sounds like someone's aiming for Dairy 2.0. But is it really about helping the local economy, or just another way for big ag to, well, milk the system?
Wiktor, the IDA Executive Director, claims this is a "rare move." Rare? As in, "we usually don't hand out tax-exempt bonds to dairy farms, but hey, why not this time?" What makes Edelweiss Dairy so special? Are they promising to single-handedly solve world hunger with their methane digesters? I'm not buying it.
The article mentions the bonds usually go to nonprofits or small manufacturers. A dairy farm ain't exactly a struggling artist collective. And let's be real, "lower interest rates" translate to "taxpayers footing the bill." They get cheap financing, and we get... what? The warm fuzzy feeling of knowing Bessie the cow has a new barn? Give me a break.
Follow the Cheese... and the Money
The real kicker? Part of the upgrade is to supply milk for the Great Lakes Cheese facility nearby. Oh, so it's not about helping the little guy, it's about feeding the insatiable appetite of Big Cheese. Makes perfect sense. Build a massive cheese plant, then subsidize the dairy farm that feeds it. What could possibly go wrong? This whole thing stinks worse than, well, a manure separation facility.
And a public hearing was held with "no members of the public commenting." Translation: nobody knew about it, or nobody cared enough to fight city hall. Either way, democracy in action, folks!
Soaked in Edelweiss?
Then there's the other Edelweiss – the airline. Apparently, someone at AirlineReporter got hosed down at the inaugural flight from Zurich to Seattle. Literally. "Edelweiss Flies to Seattle & I Get Soaked! : AirlineReporter" It was like I was being sprayed by a, … well, … huge fire hose of water and I was soaked instantly." He loved it. Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky, but getting blasted with a fire hose doesn't sound like my idea of a good time. Though, I guess it's one way to get your "Edelweiss baptism," right? Maybe the dairy farmers should try it out to celebrate their bond approval.
Offcourse, the Edelweiss air line is a sister company of Swiss International Airlines, and a member of the Lufthansa Group. So, what's the connection between a Swiss airline and a dairy farm in upstate New York? Probably nothing, but it's fun to imagine the cows flying first class to Zurich.
Is This Progress or Just Bull?
"It’s a very complicated, tricky project,” Wiktor said. Complicated and tricky usually means someone's making a lot of money. And it ain't the cows.
The IDA's support is supposed to make the project move forward "quickly." Because nothing says "responsible financial planning" like rushing into a multi-million dollar project. What's the rush? Are they afraid the cows are going to stage a revolt and demand better living conditions?